Amid gripes, Louvre pyramid celebrates 30 years

The Glass Pyramid at the Louvre Museum. Hteink.min image. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

PARIS (AP) – In a feat of optical illusion, French street artist JR completed a collage Friday that plunges the Louvre’s pyramid into a vast chasm to mark the famed glass structure’s 30-year anniversary.

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Hindman LLC fits top couture designers into April 8 auction

Gianni Versace accessories. Estimate: $800-$1,200. Hindman LLC image

CHICAGO – Hindman LLC will hold their Spring Fashion and Accessories: 1800–2015 auction, featuring rare and one-of-a-kind pieces from world-class designers including Christian Dior, Gianni Versace, Yves Saint Laurent and more on Monday, April 8. The sale, which includes more than 600 lots spanning over 200 years, will be held online starting at 10 a.m. Central time. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

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Modern designs highlight of Andrew Jones Auctions April 7

Tom Greene beaten and patinated metal light sculpture, circa 1960s. Estimate: $600-$800. Andrew Jones Auctions image

LOS ANGELES – Andrew Jones Auctions will burst into spring with a special two-day event of amazing back-to-back sales for savvy buyers, collectors and decorators looking for a way to acquire great pieces. Both sales, on April 6 and 7, will be held in Andrew Jones Auctions’ downtown Los Angeles gallery. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available only on April 7 through LiveAuctioneers.

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Suspected ‘fake’ Botticelli work turns out to be from artist’s studio


‘Madonna of the Pomegranate (1487), tempera on panel, Sandro Botticelli. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

LONDON (AP) – Art experts in Britain have discovered that a painting long thought to be a fake Sandro Botticelli in fact came from the master’s own Florence workshop.

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Roman antiquities to star at Ancient Resource Auctions April 6

Roman bronze door knocker, circa first-third century. Estimate: 1,000-$1,500. Ancient Resource Auctions image

MONTROSE, Calif. – A Roman marble bust of the deity Serapis from the first to third century and a lovely Roman bronze lion mask door knocker from the same period are just two highlights in an online-only Antiquities Discovery Sale on Saturday, April 6, at 9 a.m. Pacific time by Ancient Resource Auctions. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

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Chinese lacquerware, carved to perfection

Pair of rare Chinese Qianlong period carved cinnabar lacquer scholar’s table cabinets with intricately detailed scenes of sages and attendants gathering fruit, together depicting a continuous narrative; each 13½in., realized $35,000 in 2017. Image courtesy of I.M. Chait and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK – Asians have long used lacquer, a sap derived from a family of native trees, as incense, in medicine and as painted ornamentation. Yet carving lacquer is exclusively a Chinese art.

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Kaleidoscope of colors will dazzle in gemstones sale April 3

Natural blue topaz, 33.62 carats, emerald cut. Estimate $350-$400. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – Jasper52 will present an online auction of diverse loose gemstones auction on Wednesday, April 3. The 388-lot auction boasts a variety of cuts, stones and colors. From certified diamonds to lustrous emeralds and more, bidders will find a unique treasure among a kaleidoscope of colors. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

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Gold necklaces bring $20,000 at Kensington Estate Auctions

Bucciari 18K ancient coin chain link necklace. Hammer price: $10,500. Kensington Estate Auctions image

CLINTONDALE, N.Y. – Kensington Estate Auctions’ March 25 sale offered a sampling of estate heirloom-quality jewelry. Selling several gold necklaces spurred tremendous absentee and Internet bidding interest through LiveAuctioneers. The hammer prices realized were $10,500 for an 18K Bucciari coin chain necklace (above) and $9,250 for an 18K yellow gold circle link chain necklace (below). Prices quoted do not include the buyer’s premium.

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WWI museum mounts exhibit on ‘Securing Peace in 1919’

U.S. postwar painted helmet with the soldier’s itinerary. Image courtesy National WWI Museum and Memorial

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An exhibition concerning the ambiguous peace achieved in 1919, a screening of the award-winning film Frantz and an in-depth examination of poetry related to the Great War are among the April offerings at the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

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Beefy bidding shatters artist record at Alderfer Auction

Peter Sculthorpe, ‘Winter in Berks County,’ watercolor, framed 41in. x 71, sold for a record $33,000. Alderfer Auction image

HATFIELD, Pa. – Alderfer Auction shattered the auction records for the Chester County artist Peter Sculthorpe (b. 1948) at their March 20 auction. Of his eight works in the auction, three depicted herds of Galloway beef cattle. Leading Sculthorpe’s Galloways was his signed watercolor Winter in Berks County that sold for $33,000, a record for the artist. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

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